taking the Zags -6
taking the Zags -6
St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett has the Gaels from Moraga, CA., on the rise. Only two years ago they went winless in the WCC and weren't competitive. But last year the Gaels showed steady improvement, knocking off Santa Clara, Portland and others. Now suddenly St. Mary's hosts Gonzaga and they are fresh off a win over San Francisco to begin conference play 1-0 and filled with a new confidence.
Bennett has his team playing 40 hard minutes with an emphasis of good, solid, fundamental basketball on both ends of the court. In many cases this season, St. Mary's simply out-plays opponents. They have a 6-point loss to MWC power Utah at Utah and an 8-point loss to Big Sky favorite Eastern Washington in Cheney.
The secret to St. Mary's success is similar to Gonzaga this year. The Gaels have size and they know how to use it. Big 6'8" Chase Poole leads the way inside with an average of 13 points per game. Australian import 6'10" Daniel Kickert also contributes 13 ppg and is a threat from beyond the arc. 6'9" Ross Benson shores up the frontcourt rotation, along with 6'9" Frederic Adjiwanou, also a legit threat from long range. And these bigs are not skinny bean poles, they are 240-250 and fundamentally sound and skilled.
For sure, Gonzaga's frontline will face a spirited and challenging test Friday night, January 17.
St. Mary's backcourt, meanwhile, compliments the big frontcourt. The guards can score from beyond the arc, shoot high percentages and are athletic. Leading the way is 6'1" Samuel Saint-Jean who averages 9.2 ppg, he is a leader and very quick. 6'2" Adam Caporn runs the point with Saint-Jean and drops in over 6 ppg. 6'5" Tyler Herr is the most prolific 3-point shooter on the team and has shot far more treys than anyone else.
It appears that Kickert, Poole and Saint-Jean are the core of this St. Mary's team, but Caporn and Adjiwanou (7.2 ppg) can't be ignored.
Coming off an emotional victory against Pepperdine, the Zags will need to buckle down and bring 40 minutes of tough, intense basketball into a hostile arena in Moraga to pull out another win. Then Gonzaga must prepare for another highly athletic Pepperdine-like team in San Francisco two days later on Sunday afternoon, January 19.
tough loss with Tulsa.
